Rescuers respond to a stampede that killed and injured pilgrims in the holy city of Mina during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
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“Instead of passing the buck, the Saudis should accept their responsibility and apologise to the world’s Muslims and the bereaved families”, he said in comments reported by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
The incident cast a shadow over the 193-nation United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Rouhani suggested on Friday the tragedy may be a result of the Saudis transferring experienced troops to Yemen to fight Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, a military campaign that Tehran has repeatedly criticized.
“They have to know that we will pursue the trial of Al-Saud for the crime they have committed against the hajj pilgrims through worldwide courts and organisations”.
Whatever the case, “we will reveal the facts when they emerge”.
The Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif has said that his country will take necessary political and legal follow-up measures over the recent deadly Mina stampede which claimed lives of more than 700 pilgrims including 169 Iranians.
Iran berated Saudi Arabia on Sunday over the deaths of 769 people at the haj pilgrimage, demanding an apology and accusing its rival of seeking to evade blame, while Riyadh in turn accused Tehran of playing politics with the disaster. The death of more than 1,000 people is not a small issue.
The Saudi government also blamed the pilgrims for not following instructions that caused the stampede.
Saudi’s King Salman has ordered a review of haj plans and the formation of a committee to probe the disaster.
The fatal stampede occurred on Thursday afternoon during the “stoning the devil” Hajj ritual in Mina Valley, almost two miles from Mecca, on the first day of Eid al-Adha festivities.
The stampede was the second tragedy to cast a pall over this year’s hajj. Moreover, it came only after 13 days passed subsequent to a crane collapse that killed more than 100 people at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
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Kabir was in a procession heading towards the Jamarat Bridge when, he said, police let pilgrims returning from the stoning site use the same route.
